It's important to note that what you're paying for on a Vanilla are all those cute little details. It's definitely an "artisan" bike for people who can afford all those bells and whistles. If that's what you think is cool, then Vanilla and their ilk are the bikes for you.

I think you'd be hard pressed to suggest that a Vanilla rides any better than any number of less glitzy frame builders with far more frame building experience ie. Waterford, Mercian, Cinelli, etc, etc. The list goes on...

I personally feel a little too much praise is heaped on this new breed of builders whose specialty appears to rooted in jewelery rather than cycling. Everybody "oohs" and "aahhhs" and fancy drop outs and chrome and fancy paint jobs without much consideration for anything else. But, to each his own. I'm sure they ride nice and I'm sure his customers are happy. Just my .02.